Van Halen
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:38 pmSo I'm past the point of caring that the brothers have totally p|ssed their legacy away, past the point of arguing Roth vs. Hagar. They made some great music. They were innovators in live music and big time arena shows. And they were mine from the beginning. Over the last couple of weekends while I was trying to clean up our messy house, I listened to VH II and VH III (actually called "Women and Children First"). Some fine forgotten music on those late '70's albums.
Unlike Seger, Aerosmith, Zeppelin, or even the world's greatest band, Rush
I was a fan of VH from the beginning. I didn't stumble onto them because they'd been popular for a while then go back and check out their early catalog. I heard Running with the Devil, Eruption, and the cover of You Really Got Me, and have been there ever since. Long before, Napster, the internet, and bootleg college music networks, we heard a song on the radio, gambled whether we thought it was good enough, and scraped together the $7.99 to buy the album. Music was released in albums, an 8 to 11 song snapshot of what a band was thinking and doing and experiencing over the last year, year and a half.
I remember sitting in Mrs. T's apartment (back when she was Miss D.) in 1985, and we listened to all of the first 6 albums (the Roth years). You could tell a distinct different theme with each one. You can do the same thing with Rush. You can tell what new instruments Geddy was experimenting with, what effects and amps Alex was toying with, and what Neil was reading on each Rush release.
When Hagar joined the group I was already a huge fan of his. He took the band to super super stardom. I've been to a thousand concerts, the Diver Down and 5150 VH shows still both rank in my top 5. The common string throughout almost all of my favorite rock music is great vocals and harmonies. VH nailed that, Eddie and Michael had that tight chiming backup vocal that complemented both Roth and Hagar. We will probably never see a rock phenomenon like that again. So I can look back in their songs, their innovations, and the soundtrack of a good part of my life and be happy, nostalgic and satisfied. The present situation with Eddie and his band does not negate what they did, and what it meant to me.
Unlike Seger, Aerosmith, Zeppelin, or even the world's greatest band, Rush
I was a fan of VH from the beginning. I didn't stumble onto them because they'd been popular for a while then go back and check out their early catalog. I heard Running with the Devil, Eruption, and the cover of You Really Got Me, and have been there ever since. Long before, Napster, the internet, and bootleg college music networks, we heard a song on the radio, gambled whether we thought it was good enough, and scraped together the $7.99 to buy the album. Music was released in albums, an 8 to 11 song snapshot of what a band was thinking and doing and experiencing over the last year, year and a half. I remember sitting in Mrs. T's apartment (back when she was Miss D.) in 1985, and we listened to all of the first 6 albums (the Roth years). You could tell a distinct different theme with each one. You can do the same thing with Rush. You can tell what new instruments Geddy was experimenting with, what effects and amps Alex was toying with, and what Neil was reading on each Rush release.
When Hagar joined the group I was already a huge fan of his. He took the band to super super stardom. I've been to a thousand concerts, the Diver Down and 5150 VH shows still both rank in my top 5. The common string throughout almost all of my favorite rock music is great vocals and harmonies. VH nailed that, Eddie and Michael had that tight chiming backup vocal that complemented both Roth and Hagar. We will probably never see a rock phenomenon like that again. So I can look back in their songs, their innovations, and the soundtrack of a good part of my life and be happy, nostalgic and satisfied. The present situation with Eddie and his band does not negate what they did, and what it meant to me.
